Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.' But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

- Luke 22:24-30

Yesterday we read that when the hour had come, Jesus sat down at the Last Supper -- the Passover supper, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!" Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.' But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves." My study bible says that this small-minded dispute is out of place in the context of the mysteries Christ has just revealed. Clearly the disciples do not grasp the fullness of what has just been given to them. Perhaps their minds have seized on His statement that He "will no longer eat of [the Passover] until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God," and they misunderstand, thinking that the manifestation of His kingdom is imminent. Jesus corrects the disciples by first comparing them to the power-hungry Gentiles, whom they consider to be an abomination. Jesus contrasts their behavior to His own, as He serves all although He is Lord of all.

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." My study bible quotes St. Ambrose of Milan here: "Christ judges by discerning the heart, and not by examining deeds. So also the apostles are being shaped to exercise spiritual judgment concerning faith, and in rebuking error with virtue." The judgment Christ is speaking of here isn't earthly judgment, but rather judgment by the witness of the very lives of the apostles. God's kingdom begins with the Resurrection of Christ; thereby this authority has already been given to the apostles and their successors in the journey of the Church on earth, my study bible tells us (see Matthew 16:19, John 20:23). Contrast the desire for worldly power with the faith that these men have displayed as they have "continued with Me in My trials." Perhaps there is one among them for whom a kind of worldly power outweighs following the Master through humiliation and death, but he is the one who will betray Him. It is faith that bears witness and gives testimony that renders judgment.

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials." This statement conveys an enormous amount of information about these apostles, upon whom Christ says will be bestowed "a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Somehow it is continuing with Him in His trials that conveys the full impact here, gives us something to grasp and to understand about judgment, and about authority, and about the Kingdom. Elsewhere Jesus also juxtaposes the desire for worldly power (in various forms) and the humility necessary to be one of His true followers: "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels" (9:25-26). Let us consider the concept of shame invoked here, and the necessary qualification of humility to be fully faithful to Him. Considering the images we read in the Gospels, both of Christ in His life and mission, and of the apostles who would follow, humility -- and the capacity to bear shame given by the world -- is a necessary ingredient to our full faith. Christ calls us to places where we have to stand up for something that is unpopular, or for those who are outcast in some sense, excluded. It doesn't matter the form. Such challenges can come in infinite ways. But it seems that as we go along in this journey of faith, there will be times we are called upon to stand up for something others don't like, or that which looks like it's simply not the best appearance to make, the one thing necessary that sets us apart and makes us sort of strange, or somehow not in keeping with the worldly goals of those who are the "kings of the world," even those who take care to appear as "benefactors." And this, perhaps paradoxically, is what makes the apostles fit to be judges -- because they have continued with Him even in the times of His trials, and because they will continue in the time of greatest humiliation, the shame of the Cross, His death, and the persecutions to come. Without the Resurrection, this would not have the meaning that it does, and these humiliations cannot be separated from the glory of the Cross and of Resurrection. They are all part of a whole. But what is indicated here is simply the great struggle of faith in its completeness -- and our need to keep all in the perspective He asks of us. We don't have faith in order to find position and worldly glory. Faith will challenge us to be bigger than that, transcendent, and to transform all the worldly images of what it means to be a success into something deeper and with not only loftier but more powerful and responsible goals than that. Faith asks us to become like Christ, to develop the virtues He shows us, His faith and His courage and His capacity for sacrifice. Faith asks us to take on a perspective of priorities that aren't necessarily in sync with what the world will claim is all-good. It asks us to make choices, and perhaps to endure shame and humiliation. But these things are temporal and fleeting, and they don't transcend the joy of God's love nor the depth to which we are valued and cherished and taught to become much more than we could expect of ourselves. The Kingdom is here and we may always be a part of it. But let us remember the testimony of a true witness, and that of our faith -- and endurance -- which speak volumes beyond words.

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